UC-NRLF 


PROCEEDINGS 


NEW    YORK 


ACADEMY  OF  MEDICINE, 


At  the  First  Stated  Meeting,  held  in  the  Hall  of  the  Academy, 
12  West  Thirty-first  Street,  May  20,  1875. 


UNA  FIDES,   ALTARE    COMMUNE. 


NEW    YORK: 

PRINTED   AND   PUBLISHED    FOR   THE    ACADEMY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  549  &  551   Broadway. 

1875. 


PROCEEDINGS 


NEW    YORK 


ACADEMY  OF  MEDICINE, 


At  the  First  Stated  Meeting,  held  in  the  Hall  of  the  Academy, 
12  West  Thirty-first  Street,  May  20,  1875. 


UNA  FIDES,   ALTARE    COMMUNE. 


NEW    YORK: 

PRINTED  AND   PUBLISHED   FOR   THE   ACADEMY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  549  &  551  Broadway. 

1875. 


NEW  YORK  ACADEMY  OF  MEDICINE. 


OFFICERS  FOR  1875. 

President. 
SAMUEL  S.  PURPLE,  M.  D. 

Vice-Presidents. 
SAMUEL  T.  HUBBARD,  M.  D., 
JOHN  C.  D ALTON,  M.  D., 
GOUVERNEUR  M.  SMITH,  M.  D. 

Recording  Secretary. 
WILLIAM  T.  WHITE,  M.  D. 

Corresponding  Secretary. 
JOHN   G.   ADAMS,   M.  D. 

Treasurer. 
JAMES  O.  POND,  M.  D. 

Ti%cstees. 
OLIVER  WHITE,  M.  D., 
ISAAC  E.  TAYLOR,  M.  D., 
EDMUND  R.  PEASLEE,  M.  D., 
JAMES  L.  BANKS,  M.  D., 
AUSTIN  FLINT,  M.  D. 


Librarian. 
JOHN  H.  HINTON,  M.  D. 

Assistant  Secretary. 
HORACE  T.  HANKS,  M.  D. 

Statistical  Secretary. 
ALLAN  McL.  HAMILTON,  M.  D. 


COMMITTEES    FOR    1875 


Committee  on  Admissions. 
JOHN"  H.  HINTON,  M.  D.,  j  ELLSWOETH  ELIOT,  M.  D., 

GOUVERNEUR  M.  SMITH,  M.  D.,  |  EDWARD  H.  JANES,  M.D., 

MARK  BLUMENTHAL,  M.D. 


Committee  on  Medical  Ethics. 
JAMES  ANDERSON,  M.  D.,  I  ERNST  KRACKOWIZER,  M.  D., 

JOHN  C.  PETERS,  M.  D.,  |  THOMAS  C.  FINNELL,  M.D., 

TIMOTHY  M.  OHEESMAN,  M.  D. 


Committee  on  Medical  Education. 
ALONZO  CLARK,  M.  D.,  I  ALFRED  C.  POST,  M.D., 

FREDERICK  A.  BURRALL,  M.D.,|  JAMES  R.  LEAMING,  M.D. 
EDMUND  R.  PEASLEE,  M.  D. 


Committee  on   Ways  and  Means. 


JAMES  ANDERSON,  M.  D., 
WILLARD  PARKER,  M.  D., 
SAMUEL  T.  HUBBARD,  M.  D., 
JARED  LINSLY,  M.  D., 


ERNST  KRACKOWIZER,  M.  D. 
JOHN  G.  ADAMS,  M.  D., 
STEPHEN  SMITH,  M.D., 
SAMUEL  S.  PURPLE,  M.D., 


GOUVERNEUR  M.  SMITH,  M.  D. 


Committee  on  Library. 


SAMUEL  S.  PURPLE,  M.D. 
JAMES  R.  LEAMING,  M.  D. 


JOHN  H.  HINTON,  M.  D., 
WILLARD  PARKER,  Je.,  M.  D. 


Committee  on  Building. 
EDMUND  R.  PEASLEE,  M.D.,      |       SAMUEL  S.  PURPLE,  M.D. 


ISTEW  TOEK  ACADEMY  OF  MEDICINE. 


The  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine  was  instituted  on 
the  6th  day  of  January,  1847,  and  was  incorporated  by  a 
special  act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  on  the 
23d  day  of  June,  1851.  The  objects  contemplated  in  its  or- 
ganization, as  declared  at  the  time,  were — 1.  The  separation 
of  regular  from  irregular  practitioners  in  medicine.  2.  The 
association  of  the  profession  proper  for  purposes  of  mutual 
recognition  and  friendship.  3.  The  promotion  of  the  charac- 
ter, interests,  and  honor  of  the  fraternity,  by  maintaining  the 
union  and  harmony  of  the  regular  profession  in  the  city  and 
its  vicinity,  and  aiming  to  elevate*  the  standard  of  medical 
education.  4.  The  cultivation  and  advancement  of  the  sci- 
ence, by  united  exertions  for  mutual  improvement,  and  by 
contributions  to  medical  literature.  5.  The  procurement  of  a 
building  or  hall  where  meetings  of  the  Academy  maybe  held, 
where  a  library  can  be  gathered,  and  where  the  profession  may 
meet  on  common  ground.  These  efforts  have  culminated  in 
the  purchase  of  a  commodious  building,  centrally  located  on 
Thirty-first  Street,  between  Fifth  Avenue  and  Broadway, 
which  may,  for  some  time  to  come,  answer  the  purposes  of  the 
Academy  and  the  profession,  and  will  be  open  daily  (Sundays 
excepted)  from  9  a.  m.  to  9  p.  m.  during  the  entire  year.  It 
now  remains  for  the  individual  members  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession proper,  of  this  city,  to  use  the  advantages  which  are  at 
their  command,  to  advance  its  honor  and  best  interests. 

The  exercises,  on  the  occasion  of  the  second  stated  meeting 
of  the  Academy  in  May  last,  will  long  be  regarded  as  memo- 


6 

rable  in  its  history.  On  that  evening  the  building  now  owned 
by  the  Academy  was,  for  the  first  time,  occupied  by  this  body, 
and  the  donations  then  received,  and  the  interest  then  excited, 
are  described  in  the  following 

PROCEEDINGS  I 

A  stated  meeting  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine 
was  held  in  the  Hall  of  the  Academy,  No.  12  West  Thirty- 
first  Street,  on  Thursday  evening,  May  20,  1875,  at  eight 
o'clock, 

Dr.  Samuel  S.  Purple,  President,  in  the  chair. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  stated  meeting  were  read  and  ap- 
proved.    The  President  then  addressed  the  Academy  as  fol- 
lows : 
Fellows  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine. 

It  affords  me  sincere  pleasure  to  congratulate  you  on  this 
auspicious  occasion,  to  welcome  you  to  our  own  home,  this 
new  shrine  of  our  one  faith  and  common  altar. 

As  men  reckon  time,  a* generation  has  not  passed  since  this 
Institution,  springing  fresh  from  the  necessities  of  the  profes- 
sion, started  on  its  career  of  usefulness — a  career  which  we 
trust  is  destined,  in  all  respects,  to  keep  pace  with  the  wants 
of  the  profession. 

Of  the  manner — the  days  of  patient  labor,  and  the  moments 
of  anxiety  to  some,  which  have  brought  about  the  result  here 
presented  to  you  to-night — it  will  better  become  others  to 
speak.  Suffice  it  for  me  to  say  that  it  has  been  deemed 
proper,  as  a  part  of  the  exercises  of  this  evening,  that  the 
formal  surrender  of  this  building  and  lot  of  ground  should  be 
made  to  the  Trustees  of  this  Academy,  and  that  your  Com- 
mittee on  Ways  and  Means  should  present  to  you  a  prelimi- 
nary account  of  their  stewardship,  and  at  the  same  time  indi- 
cate such  measures  as,  in  their  judgment,  may  be  required  to 
enable  this  body  to  anticipate,  and  properly  meet,  the  unceas- 
ingly growing  wauts  of  the  profession,  in  this  great  city. 


Dr.  James  Anderson,  the  chairman  of  that  committee, 
will  now  address  you. 

Mr.  President,  and  Fellows  of  the  New  York  Academy  of 
Medicine. 

Gentlemen  :  I  am  directed,  by  your  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means  tor  procuring  a  hall  and  home  for  the  Academy, 
to  present  to  you  this  evening  their  report.  It  affords  me,  as 
chairman,  great  pleasure  to  comply,  and  place  in  your  hands 
the  following  documents  and  papers  as  evidence  of  the  com- 
pletion of  a  part  of  the  work  required. 

Mr.  President,  what  I  shall  now  say  may  be  a  repetition, 
in  part,  of  my  remarks,  January,  1867,  in  taking  leave  of  the 
chair  which  you  at  present  occupy  with  so  much  dignity.  I 
propose  to  present  a  retrospect  of  some  of  the  early  incidents 
connected  with  the  incipiency  of  the  plan,  the  matured  results 
of  which  we  are  to-night  enjoying. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  profession,  called  by  a  committee  con- 
sisting of  the  late  Drs.  A.  H.  Stevens,  Valentine  Mott,  and 
Isaac  Wood  (representing  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons of  New  York,  the  Medical  Department  of  the  University 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County 
of  New  York),  held  December  12, 1846,  in  the  Hall  of  the  New 
York  Lyceum  of  Natural  History,  561  Broadway,  Dr.  John 
Stearns  presiding,  and  F.  Campbell  Stewart  acting  as  secre- 
tary, Dr.  Mott,  in  an  earnest  address,  stated  the  object  and 
purpose  of  the  meeting,  which  was,  to  promote  that  harmony 
and  good-will  in  the  profession  so  essential  to  its  advancement, 
and  the  elevation  of  professional  character.  He  was  followed 
by  Dr.  Stevens,  who,  after  pursuing  a  like  train  of  thought, 
moved  the  reading  of  certain  resolutions,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing are  extracts  : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  procure  a  building,  to  be  devoted 
to  the  Academy  of  Medicine,  and  that  shall  also  be  known  as  a  hall  in 
which  the  regular  members  of  the  profession  may  meet  on  common  ground. 

Resolved,  That  a  subscription  be  now  commenced  for  this  purpose. 


8 

Dr.  Stevens  further  expressed  the  hope  that  the  increasing 
unanimity  of  the  corps  would  soon  lead  to  the  establishment 
of  a  medical  hall,  unconnected  with  hospitals  or  colleges, 
which  should  contain  meeting-rooms,  a  library,  and  be  a  head- 
quarters of  resort,  both  for  ourselves  and  our  brethren  from 
abroad.  Dr.  John  Watson,  on  the  same  evening,  said  that 
"  the  imperfect  action  of  the  medical  body  depended  upon  the 
want  of  a  proper  place  of  meeting.  If  the  profession  would 
all  set  to  work,  we  should  soon  have  an  ornamental  and 
useful  one.  He  hoped  the  time  was  not  far  distant  when 
the  medical  clubs  would  come  together ;  if  so,  the  profession 
would  be  organized,  and  we  should  be  subject  to  no  re- 
proach from  strangers."  Such  were  the  sentiments  which 
found  utterance  during  the  initial  stage  of  the  formation  of 
this  Academy. 

May  I,  in  passing,  be  pardoned  for  quoting,  from  my  ad- 
dress to  you  in  1867,  sentiments  of  a  similar  character :  "  The 
great  duty  now  resting  upon  us  is,  that  we  secure  a  site  and 
erect  a  building  thereon,  that  shall  not  only  be  an  ornament 
to  the  city,  but  an  honor  to  the  Academy  and  the  profession 
— a  great  medical  centre,  that  shall  be  both  attractive  and 
scientific.  To  secure  this  imperative  necessity,  a  home,  it  is 
essential  that  there  should  be  a  more  concentrated  esprit  de 
corps,  that  shall  develop  the  irresistible  power  of  union.  Let 
us  with  one  accord  respond  to  the  duty  devolved  upon  us,  and 
this  object  will  be  accomplished.  We  have  associated  in  the 
Academy  the  power  and  influence  of  the  medical  profession 
in  this  city.  We  number  upward  of  three  hundred  living 
Fellows,  besides  having  enrolled,  on  the  list  of  our  departed, 
names  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  any  country, 
who  have  gone  to  give  an  account  of  their  stewardship.  But, 
gentlemen,  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  that  we  still  have  so 
many  among  us  of  high  scientific  attainments,  with  the  bright 
sons  of  the  profession  coming  into  notice,  and  promising  much 
for  the  future." 

Gentlemen,  the  results  which  it  is  our  pleasure  to  present 
to  you  to-night  prove  that  our  confidence  and  hope  were  not 


misplaced.     I  will  now  give  a  detailed  statement  of  the  means 
by  which  this  end  has  been  attained. 

February  3,  1847,  Dr.  Mott  presented  the  following  reso- 
lution, which,  however,  he  did  not  wish  to  be  then  acted  upon, 
inasmuch  as  the  hour  was  already  advanced,  and  the  subject 
demanded  consideration. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of be  appointed  to  present  a  plan  for 

raising  funds  for  the  erection  of  a  medical  hall,  and  it  be  instructed  to  re- 
port at  the  next  stated  meeting  of  the  Academy. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Robert  Watts,  the  consideration  of  this 
resolution  was  ordered  to  be  postponed  to  an  adjourned  meet- 
ing, to  be  held  the  following  week. 

At  the  adjourned  meeting,  held  February  10,  1847,  on 
motion  of  Dr.  Griscom,  it  was  decided  that  the  committee 
should  consist  of  five  members,  and  the  following  gentlemen 
were  appointed:  Drs.  Mott,  Stevens,  Cameron,  Drake,  and 
Berger.     Of  the  final  action  of  this  committee  no  record  exists. 

Subsequently  to  these  meetings,  there  was  an  interval  of 
nearly  ten  years,  when  at  a  stated  meeting  of  the  Academy, 
held  May  7,  1856,  Dr.  Willard  Parker  in  the  chair,  resolu- 
tions were  adopted  for  the  organization  of  a  committee  to  car- 
ry into  effect  so  much  of  the  recommendations  contained  in  the 
President's  (Dr.  Parker's)  address  as  related  to  a  hall  for  the 
Academy.  Said  committee,  consisting  of  E.  L.  Beadle,  J.  W. 
G.  Clements,  Win.  Detmold,  and  S.  Conant  Foster,  reported 
to  the  Academy,  September  3, 1856,  a  plan  which  was  adopted 
at  the  stated  meeting  held  October  1,  1856,  and  fifteen  Fel- 
lows were  nominated,  from  which  five  should  be  elected  to 
compose  the  building  committee,  and  whose  duty  it  should  be 
to  carry  into  effect  the  plan  proposed.  At  the  regular  meet- 
ing, held  November  5,  1856,  the  election  of  this  committee 
was  indefinitely  postponed.  Then  followed  another  abortive 
decade.  In  April,  1866,  the  following  communication  was 
received:  "At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  held  April  26,  1866, 
on  motion  of  Dr.  Jas.  Anderson,  it  was  voted  that  the  Council 
recommend  to  the  Academy  the  appointment  of  a  committee 


10 

to  consider  a  report  upon  the  expediency  of  immediate  action, 
in  reference  to  a  building.  This  recommendation  was  adopted 
by  the  Academy,  and  the  following  committee  appointed, 
consisting  of  Drs.  Willard  Parker,  Wm.  H.  Van  Buren,  I.  E. 
Taylor,  S.  T.  Hubbard,  and  Charles  Henschel.  These  gentle- 
men, on  the  19th  of  September,  1866,  reported  that  it  was 
inexpedient  with  the  means  at  command  to  take  immediate 
action  in  the  matter.  The  committee  was  discharged,  and  the 
matter  referred  back  to  the  Council  for  further  consideration. 
A  second  communication  from  the  Council  was  received  by 
the  Academy,  at  a  stated  meeting  held  November  7,  1866, 
containing  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  Council  recommend  to  the  Academy  that  it  should 
appoint  a  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  to  adopt  and  prosecute  a  method 
for  securing  funds  for  the  purchase  of  a  site  and  the  erection  of  a  huilding. 

This  resolution  was  adopted  and  the  following  appoint- 
ments were  made:  Drs.  Willard  Parker,  Jared  Linsly,  S.  T. 
Hubbard,  Ernst  Krackowizer,  S.  S.  Purple,  to  which  the  name 
of  the  President,  James  Anderson,  was  added.  This  commit- 
tee was  organized  at  the  house  of  Di\  Willard  Parker,  by  the 
election  of  Dr.  Jas.  Anderson  as  chairman,  and  Dr.  Samuel 
S.  Purple  as  Secretary.  Subsequently  to  the  committee  were 
added  Dr.  Chauncy  L.  Mitchell,  Stephen  Smith,  John  G. 
Adams,  and  Gouverneur  M.  Smith.  Shortly  after  their  or- 
ganization the  committee  issued  a  circular  to  the  Fellows  of 
the  Academy  in  the  form  of  an  appeal,  to' which  they  received 
no  encouragement. 

Recognizing  the  importance  of  the  object  for  which  they 
were  appointed,  your  committee  endeavored  to  accomplish  a 
certain  basis  for  future  action.  Not  having  succeeded,  they, 
after  considerable  loss  of  time,  resolved  to  try  the  plan  of  per- 
sonal application  in  the  prosecution  of  their  work,  themselves 
heading  the  subscription-list.  The^efforts  of  the  committee 
were  usually  kindly  received,  and  in  many  cases  cheerfully 
responded  to.  The  funds  collected  were  deposited  in  the  New 
York  Life  Insurance  &  Trust  Company  and  savings-banks. 


11 

The  total  amount  received  to  March  12,  1875,  amounted  to 
$12,838,  which,  with  the  accumulated  interest  of  $1,800.22, 
made  a  total  of  $14,638.22.  On  December  24, 1874,  the  Sub- 
committee on  Ways  and  Means  purchased  the  house  and  lot 
No.  12  "West  Thirty-first  Street,  New  York,  in  the  name  of 
the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine,  for  the  sum  of  $42,500. 
Payments  have  been  as  follows  :  contract  of  purchase,  $1,500 
— the  balance  on  the  delivery  of  the  title-deed,  March  12, 1875, 
the  Academy,  February  4,  1875,  assuming  the  mortgage  of 
$10,000  on  the  property.  To  enable  your  committee  to  make 
the  above  payments  they  received  from  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
by  order  of  the  Academy,  the  sum  of  $17,350.27,  leaving  a 
balance  in  the  treasury  of  the  committee  of  $633.55,  out  of 
which  $329  were  paid  as  attorney's  fees.  Subscriptions  re- 
ceived subsequently  to  March  12,  1875,  have  enabled  your 
committee  to  pay  the  interest  ($350)  on  the  bond  of  $10,000 
due  April  14,  1875 ;  also  the  premium  of  $21.25,  on  an  in- 
surance of  $10,000,  in  two  companies,  of  $5,000  each.  The 
funds  now  in  the  treasury  (May  20,  1875)  will  meet  the  bills 
for  payment  of  carpets,  cleaning  and  renovating  the  premises, 
leaving  the  payments  for  furniture,  carpentering,  painting, 
mason-work,  etc.,  amounting  to  about  $1,000,  to  be  provided 
for  within  three  months. 

Having  thus  far  complied  with  the  directions  of  the  com- 
mittee in  this  general  statement,  I  now,  Mr.  President,  present 
to  you  by  the  order  of  the  Academy,  and  in  the  name  of  your 
committee,  the  abstract  of  title  and  deed  of  the  house  and  lot 
No.  12  West  Thirty -first  Street,  New  York,  together  with 
some  minor  papers  and  the  two  policies  of  insurance.  I  do 
this  with  profound  gratitude  to  God,  a  feeling  I  am  sure  that 
will  meet  with  a  prompt  response  from  all,  ever  remembering 
that,  "  except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  who 
build  it." 

All  of  which  is  most  respectfully  submitted. 

On  closing  the  reading  of  the  report,  the  deed  of  the  prop- 
erty, the  abstract  of  the  title,  the  policies  of  insurance,  and 


12 

other  papers,  were  handed  to  the  President,  who  passed  them 
to  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Academy,  with 
the  following  remarks: 

Dr.  Oliver  White,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine. 
Sir  :  In  passing  to  your  custody  these  papers  and  this  prop- 
erty, I  feel  the  certain  assurance  that  the  honorable  body  you 
represent  will  look  carefully  after  the  preservation  of  every 
part,  and  that  no  duty  will  be  left  unperformed  that  will  ad- 
vance the  best  interests  of  this  institution. 

Dr.  White  replied  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President  :  In  accepting,  in  behalf  of  my  associates 
and  as  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  this  Academy,  the 
custody  of  these  papers  and  this  property,  we  promise  to  dis- 
charge all  the  duties  that  the  charter  of  this  Academy  imposes 
upon  us ;  and,  with  the  aid  of  the  Fellows  of  this  distinguished 
body,  to  labor  to  promote  in  all  legitimate  ways  the  best  in- 
terests of  this  institution  ;  and  now,  sir,  having  promised  this 
much,  permit  me  to  offer  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Academy  are  hereby  tendered  to  the 
gentlemen  composing  its  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  for  the  very  effi- 
cient and  very  acceptable  way  in  which  they  have  attended  to  the  matters 
intrusted  to  them — resulting  in  their  obtaining  for  the  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine this  exceedingly  pleasant  and  commodious  home. 

The  foregoing  resolution  having  been  unanimously  adopted, 
the  Secretary  read  the  following  letter  : 

Stamford,  Conn.,  May  20,  1875.. 
Dr.  S.  S.  Purple. 

Dear  Sir:  Agreeably  to  the  request  of  our  dear  father 
(the  late  Dr.  Carter),  we,  his  children,  present  to  the  Academy 
of  Medicine  the  portrait  of  Dr.  John  Stearns,  its  first  Presi- 
dent, and  also  desire  to  add  one  of  our  father,  taken  while  he 


13 

was  yet  in  the  prime  of  life,  with  our  best  wishes  for  the  pros- 
perity and  success  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine. 
We  remain  respectfully  yours, 

Mary  K.  Little, 
Galen  A.  Carter. 

P.  S. — Please  find  inclosed  an  address  delivered,  by  the 
late  Rev.  Henry  Montgomery,  at  the  funeral  of  the  late  Dr. 
Carter. 

Dr.  Joel  Foster  moved  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine  are 
hereby  tendered  to  Mrs.  Mary  K.  Little  and  Hon.  Galen  A.  Carter,  for  the 
portrait  of  Dr.  John  Stearns,  the  first  President  of  this  Academy,  so 
kindly  presented  by  them,  and  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  trans- 
mit to  them  a  copy  of  this  resolution. 

Dr.  Hubbard,  the  first  Vice-President,  then  took  the  chair ; 
Dr.  Purple  seconded  the  resolution,  and  said : 

Fellows  of  the  Academy : 

I  propose  to  outline  briefly,  from  my  manuscript  memoir, 
something  of  the  life  and  character  of  the  first  President  of 
this  Academy,  Dr.  John  Stearns,  whose  portrait,  by  the  gen- 
erous liberality  of  the  family  of  a  former  Vice-President,  the 
late  Dr.  Galen  Carter,  this  evening  adorns  our  walls. 

Dr.  John-  Stearns,  born  in  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  May  16, 
1770,  was  the  third  child  of  John  Stearns,  himself  a  physi- 
cian, and  Elizabeth  Willis,  daughter  of  Captain  Joshua  and 
Jemima  (Eaton)  Willis,  of  Tolland.  He  was  a  descendant  in 
the  fifth  generation  of  Charles  Stearns,  and  his  second  wife, 
Rebecca  Gibson,  an  early  settler  in  Watertown,  Mass.,  in 
1646,  during  the  administration  of  Governor  Winthrop. 

The  subject  of  this  portrait,  after  receiving  the  necessary 
preliminary  education,  was  admitted  a  student  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, where  he  graduated  in  1789,  with  the  highest  honors  of 
his  class. 

He  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  under  the  instruc- 


14 

tion  of  Dr.  Erastus  Sergeant,  of  Stockbridge,  then  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  physicians  and  surgeons  of  Massachusetts. 

In  1792-'93,  he  attended  lectures  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  when  the  Faculty  consisted  of  Shippen,  Wis- 
tar,  Kuhn,  Rush,  Hutchinson,  Griffiths,  and  Barton,  who 
made  up  a  corps  of  unusual  ability  and  intellectual  power. 

Upon  his  return  from  Philadelphia  in  1793,  he  entered  at 
once  upon  the  active  and  successful  practice  of  his  profession, 
taking  up  his  residence  at  Half-Moon  Point,  now  Waterford, 
Saratoga  County,  New  York.  It  was  while  here,  and  much 
after  the  manner  that  Jenner  acquired  his  first  idea  of  the 
protective  power  of  vaccinas,  that  he  learned  of  and  carefully 
investigated  the  parturient  properties  of  ergot. 

Commenting  upon  this  fact,  a  distinguished  professor,  the 
late  Dr.  John  B.  Beck,  in  1836,  says  :  "  I  have  always  thought 
that  his  merits  have  not  been  sufficiently  appreciated  by  his 
contemporaries,  having  no  doubt  that  he  who  rescued*  ergot 
from  empiricism  and  investigated  its  medicinal  effects,  so  as  to 
make  it  a  regular  article  of  the  materia  medica,  is  justly  en- 
titled to  have  his  name  enrolled  by  the  side  of  the  Pares,  the 
Harveys,  and  Jenners  of  the  Old  World." 

It  was  here  in  the  course  of  his  practice  that  he  was  called 
to  attend  Miss  Sally  Ketchum,  daughter  of  Colonel  Hezekiah 
and  Mary  Ketchum  (a  merchant  and  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  the  town  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution),  who  was  believed 
to  be  fast  sinking  under  the  blighting  influence  of  that  fell 
destroyer,  consumption.  Faithful  and  assiduous  in  his  atten- 
tions, his  remedial  measures  soon  restored  her  to  health,  and 
the  young  physician  received  the  hand  of  his  patient  as  his 
bride,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1797.  The  fruit  of  the  union  was 
five  sons  and  one  daughter. 

On  the  7th  of  November,  1805,  Dr.  Stearns,  with  Drs. 
William  Patrick  and  Grant  Powell,  having  been  appointed  a 
committee  by  the  physicians  of  Saratoga  County  convened  at 
Ballston  Spa,  upon  that  day,  issued  a  call  to  their  professional 
brethren  of  Washington  and  Montgomery  Counties,  recom- 
mending to  their  "  earnest  attention  the  necessity  of  adopting 


15 

some  vigorous  measures  for  the  suppression  of  empiricism  and 
the  encouragement  of  regular  practitioners,"  and  procuring 
"  from  the  Legislature  of  the  State  their  sanction  to  a  Medi- 
cal Society  " — at  the  same  time  requesting  their  attendance 
at  Ballston  on  the  16th  of  January,  1806,  "  for  the  purpose  of 
adopting  the  best  means  for  obtaining  an  act  of  incorpora- 
tion." 

The  proceedings  of  this  meeting,  and  subsequent  action  of 
the  profession,  in  which  Dr.  Stearns  bore  a  most  prominent 
and  active  part,  eventuated  in  the  passage  of  the  act  of  the 
Legislature  of  April  4,  1806,  under  which,  in  less  than  three 
months,  twenty  medical  societies,  in  as  many  counties,  were 
organized,  followed  by  the  organization  of  the  Medical  Society 
of  £he  State  of  New  York,  the  next  February,  thus  giving  to 
the  profession  of  medicine  that  honorable  status  in  the  Com- 
monwealth to  which  it  was  justly  entitled. 

In  January,  1810,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  State  Senate  as 
senator  from  Saratoga  County,  serving  in  that  capacity  for 
four  years,  during  which  time  he  labored  zealously  to  promote 
the  interests  of  the  Medical  Society,  and  through  that  the  best 
interests  of  the  profession  in  the  State. 

Among  his  compeers  were  De  Witt  Clinton,  Livingston, 
Selden,  Bloodgood,  Phelps,  McLean,  Haight,  Root,  Martin 
Yan  Buren,  afterward  President  of  the  United  States,  Town- 
send,  and  others ;  and  on  occasions,  when  the  Senate  was  re- 
solved into  a  Committee  of  the  Whole,  he  was  usually  called 
to  preside  over  its  deliberations.  His  admirable  qualities  as  a 
presiding  officer  are  well  remembered  by  the  few  that  remain 
of  the  organizing  members  of  this  Academy,  and  were  evinced 
in  his  thorough  knowledge  of  parliamentary  rules,  ready  tact, 
sound  judgment,  even  discrimination,  and  impartial  action, 
thus  rendering  himself  extremely  popular  in  the  chair. 

In  1812  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State  elected  him  an 
honorary  member  of  its  body,  and  the  same  year,  the  Regents 
of  the  University  recommending,  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons,  in  the  City  of  New  York  conferred  upon  him 
the  honorary  degree  of  M.  D.    He  was  the  first  Secretary 


16 

of  the  State  Medical  Society ;  and  its  sixth  President  in  1817, 
and  filled  that  office  for  four  successive  years. 

His  contributions  to  the  literature  of  medicine  and  the  col- 
lateral sciences  were  varied  and  voluminous.  In  his  addresses 
and  other  papers,  whenever  his  theme  would  permit,  he  took 
pleasure  in  giving  public  utterance  to  those  expressions  of 
religious  zeal  and  pious  emotion  which  in  a  marked  degree 
characterized  his  professional  and  private  conduct,  and  which 
so  much  endeared  him  to  his  friends  and  medical  brethren. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  American  Tract  Society, 
and  for  eleven  years  until  his  death  the  chairman  of  its  finance 
committee,  and  for  more  than  twenty  years  a  member  of  the 
vestry  of  St.  George's  Church,  of  this  city. 

From  1810  to  1819,  Dr.  Stearns  resided  at  Albany,  remov- 
ing in  the  latter  year  to  the  city  of  New  York,  chiefly  under  the 
strong  solicitation  of  Governor  Daniel  D.  Tompkins.  He  died 
here  March  18,  1848,  aged  seventy-eight  years,  of  septicaemia, 
the  result  of  a  punctured  wound  accidentally  received  in  the 
prosecution  of  professional  duty. 

Of  other  main  incidents  in  his  long  and  useful  life,  the 
time  will  not  permit  me  to  speak.  I  see  present  some  who 
were  his  contemporaries,  and  who  doubtless  can  well  remem- 
ber how  he  inspired  in  the  minds  of  his  professional  brethren 
a  deep  sense  of  conscious  integrity  of  character,  and  how  readily 
he  commanded  confidence  and  support  by  the  energy  and 
vigor  of  his  efforts  to  elevate  the  standard  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession, both  in  the  State  and  city  of  New  York.  You  will 
remember,  too,  how  earnest  he  was  in  promoting  the  objects 
for  which  this  Academy  was  founded,  declaring  in  the  first 
year  of  its  existence  that,  could  he  be  assured  of  its  "  uninter- 
rupted and  enduring  prosperity,  in  disseminating  health,  hap- 
piness, and  the  sustaining  principles  of  life,"  he  would  "  die  in 
peace,  with  effusions  of  gratitude  and  praise  to  Almighty  God 
for  his  permanent  blessings  upon  our  labors." 

He  was  eminently  practical ;  his  professional  probity  was 
intuitively  great;  naturally  reserved,  he  waited  for,  rather 
than  sought,  professional  honors  ;  finally  he  crowned  the  vir- 


17 

tues  of  a  well-ordered  life,  with  the  duties  and  pure  faith  of 
an  exemplary  Christian  : 

"  When  to  the  common  rest  that  crowns  our  days, 
Called  in  the  eve  of  life,  the  good  man  goes, 
.     .     .     .     and,  ripe  in  wisdom,  lays 

His  silver  temples  in  their  last  repose, 
We  think  on  wliat  he  was — his  stainless  worth, 
.     .     .     .     and  in  the  book  of  fame 
The  glorious  record  of  his  virtues  write." 

The  resolution  of  Dr.  Foster  was  then  unanimously 
adopted. 

Dr.  Gurdon  Buck  offered  the  following  resolution,  which 
was  unanimously  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine  are 
hereby  tendered  to  Mrs.  Mary  K.  Little,  and  Hon.  Galen  A.  Carter,  for  the 
portrait  of  their  father,  the  late  Galen  Carter,  M.  D.,  a  former  Vice-Presi- 
dent, and  founder  of  this  Academy,  so  kindly  donated  by  them,  and  that 
the  Secretary  be  directed  to  transmit  to  them  a  copy  of  this  resolution. 

Dr.  Alfred  C.  Post,  on  seconding  the  resolution  of  thanks 
for  the  portrait  of  the  late  Dr.  Galen  Carter,  a  former  Yice- 
President  of  the  Academy,  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President:  I  take  pleasure  in  seconding  the  resolu- 
tion which  has  been  offered  by  Dr.  Buck. 

The  portrait  which  has  been  so  generously  presented  to 
the  Academy  recalls  the  venerable  features  of  our  late  friend 
and  Fellow,  Dr.  Galen  Carter.  His  tall  and  erect  form  was 
remarkably  in  unison  with  the  mental  and  moral  characteris- 
tics by  which  he  was  distinguished.  He  might  with  singular 
propriety  be  described  in  the  words  of  the  Roman  poet,  as 
"  integer  vitce,  scelerisque  purus."  In  all  his  professional  and 
social  relations,  he  maintained  a  character  for  truth,  and 
honor,  and  inflexible  integrity.  The  son  of  a  physician,  he 
early  imbibed  a  love  for  the  profession  to  which  he  so  assidu- 
ously devoted  himself,  to  the  close  of  a  long  and  useful  life. 
He  was  engaged  in  the  active  duties  of  his  profession,  visiting 


18 

the  sick,  when  suddenly  the  summons  came  which  called  him 
away  from  earth,  to  give  an  account  of  the  deeds  done  in  the 
hod j.     The  call  was  sudden,  but  not  unprepared  for. 

"  The  web  of  life  was  spun, 
The  work  of  earth  was  done, 
The  prize  of  heaven  was  won." 

He,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh  to  us,  through  the  portrait 
which  is  henceforth  to  grace  these  walls,  and  the  words  which 
he  speaks  to  us  are  these :  "  Be  ye  also  ready,  for,  in  such  an 
hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of  Man  cometh." 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  following  letter : 

New  York,  May  19,  1875. 
Samuel  S.  Purple,  M.  D.,  President  New  York  Academy 
of  Medicine. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  through 
you,  to  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine,  a  portrait  of  my 
father,  the  late  Dr.  Joseph  Mather  Smith,  who  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  society,  and  in  1854  its  President. 

The  portrait  has  been  painted  expressly  for  the  Academy, 
for  presentation  on  the  occasion  of  the  inauguration  of  its  new 
building  on  the  20th  inst.  "Wishing  the  Academy  even  greater 
prosperity  than  it  has  ever  before  enjoyed, 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully  yours, 

GoiTVERNEUR  M.  SMITH,  M.  D. 
14  East  Seventeenth  Street. 

Dr.  Willard  Parker  offered  the  following  resolution,  which 
was  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine  are 
hereby  tendered  to  Dr.  Gouverneur  M.  Smith  for  the  portrait  of  his  father, 
the  late  Dr.  Joseph  Mather  Smith,  President  of  this  Academy  in  1854,  so 
generously  presented  by  him,  and  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  trans- 
mit to  him  a  copy  of  this  resolution. 

Dr.  Elisha  Harris,  in  seconding  the  above  resolution,  re- 
marked as  follows: 


19 

Mr.  President:  With  the  mention  of  this  name,  revered 
by  all  with  undying  reminiscences  of  the  noble  character  and 
exalted  labors  of  his  life,  how  natural  this  beautiful  portrait 
of  Dr.  Joseph  Mather  Smith  appears!  How  complacently 
his  countenance  seems  this  evening  to  look  upon  those  who 
now  gaze  at  that  shadow  of  the  honored  teacher  and  model 
counselor  in  medicine  ! 

Eepbsing  and  thoughtful,  expressive  yet  placid,  well  knit 
with  iirm  and  steady  purposes,  observing  and  inquisitive,  yet 
with  every  feature  of  judicially  patient  and  balanced  judg- 
ment, how  true  to  nature  that  countenance  and  thepose  of  the 
picture ! 

The  warmth,  too,  which  the  artist  has  given  to  his  subject 
on  this  canvas,  belongs  to  it.  Prof.  Joseph  Mather  Smith  had 
the  hearty  warmth  and  earnestness  of  a  physician  devoutly  fond 
of  his  professional  pursuits,  and  profoundly  interested  in  the 
development  of  scientific  truth  ;  and  such  were  his  true  sym- 
pathies with  his  brethren,  and  his  concern  for  human  welfare, 
that  his  dignity  and  apparent  reserve  were  surrounded  and 
illuminated  by  a  halo  that  imparted  a  most  genial  quality  to 
his  judicial  bearing.  The  artist  has  environed  his  subject  with 
an  atmosphere  that  makes  the  picture  seem  to  be  in  our  pres- 
ence alive,  and  in  a  sense  really  the  semblance  of  one  with  us, 
listening  and  speaking  to  us :  and  such  was  Prof.  Smith  when 
among  his  brethren,  and  when  the  honored  President  of  this 
Academy — for  he  thought,  felt,  and  earnestly  concerned  him- 
self with  his  brethren  and  his  fellow-men. 

To  the  thoughtful,  the  filial,  and  professional  affection  of 
the  son — our  honored  fellow-member — who  has  to-night  pre- 
sented this  beautiful  and  life-like  portrait  of  his  noble  father, 
the  teacher  and  patriarch  in  medicine,  we  owe  the  sincere 
tribute  of  thanks. 

Let  the  halls  and  libraries  of  the  Academy  perpetuate  the 
memory  and  labors  of  all  such  noble  examples  of  professional 
duty  and  well-spent  life.  Dr.  Joseph  Mather  Smith  was  for 
nearly  fifty  years  an  earnest  and  progressive  student  and  con- 
tributor in  medical  science ;  forty-six  years  a  public  teacher 


20 

and  a  clinical  expounder  of  practical  medicine.  He  was  the 
friend  and  supporter  of  all  who  made  new  advances  in  medical 
and  physiological  science.  Yet  it  was  not  alone  his  own  varied 
and  well-digested  scientific  and  literary  acquisition  nor  his  truly 
rare  logical  and  analytical  mind  which  gave  him  all  the  pre- 
eminence he  enjoyed ;  indeed,  he  boasted  of  nothing,  but,  even 
when  his  masterly  medically  prophetic  discourse  on  the  nature 
and  probable  advent  of  the  Asiatic  cholera  was  pronounced  in 
the  spring  of  1832,  he  turned  aside  to  mention  that  for  the 
careful  translations  from  Italian  and  other  authors,  who  were 
then  describing  the  disease,  he  acknowledged  the  aid  of  his 
wife ;  and,  on  another  occasion,  he  also  took  pains  to  credit  the 
aid  received  from  his  son,  Dr.  Gouverneur  M.  Smith. 

It  was  plain  that  upon  his  whole  nature  the  mark  of  true 
nobility  was  set.  The  first  paragraph  that  his  pupil,  now 
speaking,  penciled  in  memorandum  from  the  lips  of  that 
teacher,  seems,  after  many  years,  to  apply  in  a  special  man- 
ner to  the  good  physician  and  revered  counselor  himself.  He 
said :  ".  .  .  Nothing  is  more  observable  than  the  fact  that 
some  individuals  exercise  a  vastly  greater  influence  over  their 
fellow-men  than  others.  Such  a  moral  power,  varying  in  de- 
gree, is  seen  in  action  on  every  side ;  and  everywhere  its 
agency  is  productive  of  good  or  evil.  .  .  .  When  it  exists  as  a 
vigorous  principle  in  the  character  of  a  physician,  it  gives  him 
an  influence,  as  a  practitioner,  which  no  amount  of  simple 
medical  learning  can  bestow." 

Worthily,  reverently,  and  with  sincere  affection  do  this 
Academy  and  the  good  and  great  among  citizens  of  this  me- 
tropolis pay  the  tribute  of  honor  to  him  whose  portrait  we  now 
receive  at  the  generous  hands  of  the  son  and  family  of  this 
honored  and  beloved  ex-President  to  adorn  these  scientific 
chambers;  and,  wreathed  about  groups  of  such  memorial 
pictures  will  the  Fellows  of  the  Academy  inscribe,  in  golden 
letters,  "  Hcec  mea  ornamenta  sunt" 

The  Secretary  read  the  following  letter  from  Dr.  C.  D. 
Smith : 


21 

New  Yokk,  May  19,  1875. 
Dr.  Purple,  President  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine. 
Dear  Sir  :  I  beg  through  you  to  present  to  the  New  York 
Academy  of  Medicine  the  portrait  of  my  father,  Dr.  Gilbert 
Smith.  His  family  will  be  proud  and  happy  to  have  it  oc- 
cupy a  place  upon  your  walls,  in  company  with  the  likenesses 
of  the  distinguished  men  who  were  associated  with  him  as 
founders  of  the  Academy. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Charles  D.  Smith. 

Dr.  Post  then  moved  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Medicine  are 
hereby  tendered  to  Dr.  Charles  D.  Smith  for  the  portrait  of  his  father,  the 
late  Dr.  Gilbert  Smith,  one  of  the  originators  of  this  Academy,  so  gener- 
ously presented  by  him,  and  that  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  transmit  to 
him  a  copy  of  this  resolution. 

Dr.  John  G.  Adams,  in  seconding  the  resolution,  made  the 
following  remarks : 

Mr.  President:  I  take  pleasure  in  seconding  the  reso- 
lution. I  had  the  pleasure  of  a  long,  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  Dr.  Gilbert  Smith ;  my  recollection  of  him  is  very 
exact  and  agreeable.  I  honored  him  for  his  strict  integrity, 
his  large-hearted  liberality ;  there  was  nothing  sordid  or  en- 
vious in  his  character ;  he  rejoiced  "heartily  in  the  success 
of  others,  and,  when  he  had  become  one  of  the  Nestors  of  our 
profession,  his  ready  sympathy,  his  cheering  encouragement 
to  his  younger  brethren,  increased  the  influence  of  his  sterling 
qualities. 

When  I  first  knew  Dr.  Smith,  in  1826,  he  was  in  the 
enjoyment  of  a  large  and  lucrative  practice;  Drs.  Hosack, 
Mott,  Francis,  Stevens,  Bliss,  Cheesman,  Moore,  and  others, 
were  the  magnates  of  that  day,  and  Dr.  Smith  was  an  esteemed 
confrere.     Many  years  since,  he  served  as  physician  to  the  old 


Almshouse,  on  the  Chambers  Street  side  of  the  City-Hall 
Park,  and  in  1832,  on  the  first  invasion  of  cholera,  he  was 
appointed  one  of  the  Medical  Council  of  eight  physicians, 
and  served  faithfully  during  that  memorable  period. 

He  was  an  ardent  friend  of  this  Academy,  and  signed 
his  name  to  our  Constitution  after  Dr.  Stearns,  thus  heading 
the  list.  He  was  remarkable  for  a  commanding  presence  no 
less  than  for  the  amenity  of  his  deportment ;  he  maintained  an 
honorable  position  among  his  brethren  during  the  period  of  half 
a  century.  It  is  therefore,  Mr.  President,  most  fitting  that  his 
portrait  should  occupy  a  place  on  our  walls,  in  perpetual  re- 
membrance of  his  early  devotion  to  its  interests.  May  his  ex- 
ample stimulate  us  to  virtue  ! 

Our  late  Fellow,  Dr.  J.  A.  Swett,  in  his  memoir  of  Dr. 
Smith,  closes  in  these  words :  "  A  pleasant  satisfaction  must 
ever  accompany  the  recollection  of  his  noble  qualities — of  his 
long  and  useful  life — his  peaceful  and  happy  death." 

The  Secretary  read  the  following  letter  from  Dr.  John  G. 
Adams,  Corresponding  Secretary : 

No.  12  Fifth  Avenue,  New  Yoek,  ) 
Thursday,  May  20,  1875.  j 

S.  S.  Purple,  M.  D. 

Dear  Sir  :  Please  to  accept  for  the  Academy  the  busts  of 
those  ancient  masters  of  our  art,  ^Esculapius  and  Hippocrates. 
Give  them  a  resting-place  among  our  "  lares  et  penates"  and 
let  them  be  handed  down  to  posterity  in  commemoration  of 
this  auspicious  inauguration. 

"Very  respectfully  yours, 

John  G.  Adams,  M.  D. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  John  P.  Garrish,  it  was — 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Academy  be  tendered  to  Dr.  Adams 
for  his  donation  of  the  busts  of  iEsculapius  and  Hippocrates. 

The  President  announced  the  reception  of  the  following 
letter  from  Prof.  Austin  Flint : 


23 

New  Yoek,  May  20,  1875. 

Dear  Purple  :  I  cannot  adequately  express  how  greatly 
I  am  disappointed  in  not  being  able  to  be  present  this  even- 
ing on  the  occasion  of  the  Academy  taking  formal  possession 
of  its  Home.  Will  you  accept  for  yourself  the  assurance, 
and  kindly  assure,  on  my  behalf,  the  Fellows  who  may  be 
present,  that  I  shall  be  at  the  meeting  in  spirit,  although  un- 
avoidably absent  in  person  ?  The  circumstances  preventing 
my  attendance  were  beyond  my  control,  but  I  claim  the  privi- 
lege of  imposing  on  myself,  for  my  absence,  a  fine,  which  I 
herewith  inclose. 

If  some  of  our  wealthy  brethren  would  insist  on  complet- 
ing our  building  Jby  the  erection  of  an  extension  in  accord- 
ance with  their  own  ideas,  please  give  my  little  contribution 
any  other  direction.  If,  however,  this  be  not  the  case,  I  hope 
the  small  sum  may  prove  the  germinal  beginning  of  develop- 
ments which  will  be  sufficient  for  onr  needs,  recollecting  the 
adage,  "  Great  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow." 

A  minor  cause  of  regret  in  not  being  with  you  to-night  is 
the  loss  of  hearing  the  "  three  cheers  and  tiger  "  which,  as  the 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  has  assured 
me,  the  occasion  will  call  forth.  I  do  not  doubt  that  Dr.  An- 
derson's voice  and  vigor  will  render  the  "  cheers  "  effective, 
and  I  am  sorry  that  the  absence  of  our  honored  Fellow,  Dr. 
Feaslee,  will  prevent  him  from  leading  off  with  the  "  tiger." 

With  my  warmest  sympathy  in  the  objects  of  the  meeting, 
and  my  best  wishes,  I  am  most  truly  yours, 

Austin  Flint. 

Dr.  R.  A.  Barry  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  proposed 
three  cheers  for  the  success  of  the  Academy,  which  were 
heartily  given  ;   after  which— 

Dr.  William  Detmold,  being  called  upon  by  the  President, 
gave  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  building-fund,  as  follows : 

Me.  President  :  I  do  not  know  why  I  should  be  called  upon 
to  say  any  thing  on  this  interesting  occasion  unless  it  is  because 


24 

I  belong  to  a  class  of  men  which  I  regret  to  say  is  rapidly  be- 
coming extinct.  Do  not  accuse  me  yet  of  presumption  when 
I  say  this,  for  I  merely  mean  to  state  that  I  am  one  of  the 
original  members  and  founders  of  this  Academy,  the  number 
of  whom  has  been  reduced  by  death  to  some  twenty-eight  or 
thirty.  I  well  remember  when  the  meetings  of  this  Acade- 
my were  held  in  a  dingy  room  over  a  coal-yard,  I  think  some- 
where in  Wooster  Street  near  Houston ;  and  I  may  also  say 
that,  as  far  as  my  recollection  serves  me,  the  academical  discus- 
sions of  those  days  bear  to  the  discussions  of  the  present  day 
about  the  same  proportion  which  that  dingy  room  bears  to  the 
elegant  hall  in  which  we  are  assembled  to-night.  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, will  you  permit  me  to  indulge  in  a  few  reminiscences 
which  may  not  be  entirely  out  of  place  or  without  interest  on 
this  occasion  ?  When,  in  1853,  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion was  to  meet  in  New  York,  it  became,  of  course,  necessary 
to  collect  funds  to  receive  and  entertain  the  profession  of  the 
United  States  in  New  York  in  a  manner  worthy  of  New  York. 
The  profession  of  the  city  came  forward  in  so  liberal  a  man- 
ner that  after  handsomely  entertaining  the  Association  and 
defraying  all  expenses  a  large  surplus  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  committee  of  arrangements,  quorum  pars  parva  fui, 
that  is,  I  was  a  member  of  that  committee.  Of  course,  the 
question  arose,  what  should  be  done  with  the  surplus?  A 
powerful  party  in  the  committee  was  in  favor  of  giving  it 
to  the  "  Society  for  the  Relief  of  Widows  and  Orphans  of 
Medical  Men ; "  and  the  charitable  and  benevolent  spirit  so 
characteristic  of  our  profession  was  about  to  carry  that  meas- 
ure nem.  con.  Although  I  took  a  lively  interest  in  that  insti- 
tution, the  same  as  I  have  done  ever  since  and  do  now,  I 
objected.  It  did  not  appear  to  me  to  be  fair  to  give  money 
contributed  by  the  whole  profession  to  a  society  which  was 
very  limited  in  the  number  of  its  members,  and  which  was 
neutral  in  its  beneficent  character.  It  appeared  to  me  more 
legitimate  to  turn  the  money  into  a  channel  which  would 
benefit  the  whole  profession  which  had  contributed  it;  I 
therefore,  then  and  there  moved  to  hand  the  surplus  over  to 


25 

the  Academy  of  Medicine  as  a  nucleus  for  a  building-fund. 
My  argument  prevailed,  and  a  circular  was  issued  to  all  the 
contributors  recommending  that  measure,  leaving,  ^however, 
to  each  contributor  the  right  either  to  demand  his  proportion  of 
the  money  back  again,  or  to  direct  any  other  disposal  of  it  that 
he  might  prefer.  Only  one  of  the  larger  contributors  demanded 
and  received  his  money  back ;  two  or  three  of  the  smaller 
ones  directed  theirs  to  be  given  to  the  widows  and  orphans  ; 
the  rest  approved  of  the  recommendation  of  the  committee, 
who  handed  over  to  the  Academy  about  $2,500  as  a  nucleus 
of  a  building-fund.  Thus  the  first  seed  was  sown  from  which 
we  reap  to-night  so  rich  a  fruit,  and  it  only  remains  to  me  to 
congratulate  you,  Mr.  President  and  the  whole  Academy,  for 
the  prudent  and  successful  management  which  made  such  a  re- 
sult possible.  But,  Mr.  President,  the  same  act  looked  some 
twenty-odd  years  ago  upon  the  coal-yard  hall  merely  as  a 
starting-point ;  so  too,  we  look  upon  this  hall,  elegant  as  it  is, 
merely  as  a  fresh  starting-point,  a  new  departure  ;  for  I  hope, 
nay,  I  feel  sure  that  not  a  few  of  the  Fellows  assembled  here 
to-night  will  live  to  see  the  time  when  they  will  look  back  to 
this  hall  with  that  same  proud  pity  that  I  have  just  shown  to 
the  poor  primitive  coal-yard  hall  or  hole  ;  for  surely  the  time 
cannot  be  far  distant  when  this  Academy  will  have  an  appro- 
priate fire-proof  building  with  all  the  necessary  appliances  wor- 
thy of  the  profession  and  of  the  Empire  City  of  the  New  World. 
All  that  is  requisite  will  be  to  point  in  a  plain  manner  to  the 
gratuitous  services  which  this  city  receives  from  the  profession, 
and  the  direct  advantages  this  city  derives  from  every  forward 
step  of  the  profession,  and  the  community  will  aid  the  pro- 
fession to  obtain  this  object. 

The  President  announced  the  possibility  that  through  in- 
advertency some  of  the  resident  Fellows  of  the  Academy  may 
not  have  been  called  upon  by  the  Committee  on  Ways  and 
Means  for  a  contribution,  and  stated  that  if  such  should  be 
the  case  the  opportunity  was  now  offered  them  to  subscribe. 


26 

Dr.  "Willard  Parker  then  followed  in  some  earnest  and 
able  remarks  on  the  need  of  immediate  action  being  taken  to 
establish  ,„  a  sinking-fund  for  the  liquidation  of  the  debt  in- 
curred, and  in  a  glowing  and  impressive  argument  showed  the 
inevitable  necessity  of  providing  for  the  future  increasing 
wants  of  the  Academy.  He  closed  by  making  an  additional 
contribution  to  the  building-fund. 

Dr.  Samuel  T.  Hubbard,  first  Vice-President,  remarked 
that  the  increasing  wants  of  the  profession  demanded  continu- 
ous effort,  that  the  present  must  prove  but  a  stepping-stone  to 
something  better  for  the  coming  generation,  and  concluded  a 
warm  appeal,  by  extending  an  invitation  to  all  present  to  par- 
take of  a  collation  which  had  been  provided  for  the  occasion. 

On  motion,  the  Academy  then  adjourned. 

POSTSCRIPT. 

The  following  letter  was  received  too  late  to  be  read  on 
the  occasion : 

Potjghkeepsie,  May  19,  1875. 
Samuel  S.  Purple,  M.  D. 

My  dear  Doctor:  Please  accept  my  thanks  for  your 
kind  note  of  the  15th  inst.,  cordially  inviting  me  to  be  present 
on  the  occasion  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  New  York  Academy 
of  Medicine,  in  its  own  hall,  on  to-morrow  evening. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  Managers  of  the  Hudson  Kiver 
State  Hospital  for  the  Insane  has  been  called  for  to-morrow, 
and  duty  seems  to  demand  that  I  should  attend ;  therefore, 
if  I  am  not  with  you,  you,  will  understand  the  reason. 

I  shall  rejoice  with  you,  whether  absent  or  present,  for, 
many  years  ago,  I  became  impressed  with  the  very  great 
importance  of  providing  a  home  for  the  Academy,  and  labored 
for  that  end,  assured  that,  whenever  it  should  be  attained,  it 
would  tend  more  than  all  else  to  rally  the  good  men  and 
true.     It  would  also  enlist  their  warmest  sympathies,  stimu- 


27 

late  their  laudable  pride,  evoke  their  abundant  liberality,  and 
bind  them  together  in  strong  fraternal  bonds.  May  it  kindle 
in  each  one  such  a  burning  zeal  for  the  elevation  of  our  pro- 
fession, in  usefulness  and  honor,  that  every  thing  selfish,  mer- 
cenary, and  base,  will  be  consumed  ! 

I  am  glad  that  the  foundation  for  all  this  is  well  laid,  and 
am  confident  that  the  superstructure  must  follow,  and  that 
ultimately  the  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine  among  us  will  be 
fully  realized. 

Yery  truly  yours, 

Edw.  L.  Beadle. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

BIOLOGY  LIBRARY 

TEL.  NO.  642.2531 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

SEP17WG9 

•  -      . 

LD  2 1  A-l  ?m-2  '  6Q                               General  Library 
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